Already tested on a motorway in France, this bridge placed over the tracks can cost you up to 375 euros if you don’t stop there. Explanations.
If you see this bridge lined with cameras on your next freeway ride, know that you are being filmed and better watch your bank account and bills the following days! New barrier-free tolls are on the rise. No more (sometimes endless) queues at the toll gates. Since 2022, another type of toll has appeared in France and it will multiply in the months to come.
Her name ? The “free flow”, or “free flow” in French. It was inaugurated on a portion of the A79, opened last November. On a portion between Digoin, in Saône-et-Loire, and Montmarault, in Allier, six gantries equipped with cameras make it possible to identify the license plate and the type of vehicle to establish the amount of the toll. No more barriers, therefore no more stops, this innovative system aims to make traffic flow more fluid, especially during long weekends and school holidays, to eliminate waiting times at tolls and to simplify user payment.
Without a toll gate, how do you pay for your trip? The easiest way is to subscribe to the Télépéage service. In this case, the system is the same as when passing through an electronic toll gate. With the difference, and it is significant, that the car is identified as soon as it passes under a gate without therefore having to slow down, or even to stop, which sometimes happens in front of less reactive electronic toll barriers. Invoicing is then automatic and the user is debited from his account a few days after having taken the toll portion of the motorway. If you are not a subscriber, you can pay online on the aliae.com site by entering your license plate or at terminals located at motorway service areas.
On the A79, as will be the case for all future sections of “free flow” motorways, for example on the A14 in Normandy from 2024, the payment deadline has been set at 72 hours after passing under the last gate. It is therefore better not to be airheaded, or seek to take advantage of the system, especially since many agreements between motorway companies and specialized companies have been made and these new generation tolls will multiply very quickly in France.